MADRID: Real Madrid have signed 17-year-old midfielder Fra­nco Mastantuono from Argent­ine side River Plate on a six-year contract, the La Liga club said on Friday.

The Spanish outfit had agreed to sign Mastantuono for about $45 million last week and the talented teenager, who can also play on the wing, will be a Real Madrid player from Aug 14.

Having come through River Plate’s youth system, Mastantuono was part of the first team in the 2024-25 season. In February last year, he became the youngest scorer in River’s history.

He also became the youngest at 17 to play an official match for Argentina when he featured in their World Cup qualifier against Chile last week.

“Mastantuono will be a player at our club for the next six seasons, from 14 August 2025 to 30 June 2031,” said Los Blancos in a statement.

“At 17, he is also the youngest player to play an official match for the Argentina national team in its history.”

He is Real’s third signing this summer behind Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool and Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2025